Taranaki driver surprises in opening round
Young Taranaki driver Thomas Boniface made himself known on the track at Hampton Downs at the weekend as he contested the opening round of the BMW Race Driver Series Championship.
Competing in the 2.0 litre open class, the 13-year-old found himself squaring off against vehicles of huge pedigree and performance upward of 250 brake horsepower (BHP), with Boniface lining up in a 1600cc mini with 125BHP.
Qualifying ninth of the 22 competitors, he ended the first race on Saturday in the same position after a tough eight-lap battle.
However on Sunday, Boniface proved you didn’t need to have the biggest car on the track to win a race.
Thomas was given a start from P14 in his underpowered car, but with the benefit of a wet track and superior grip in the Mini, he drove through the field and left everyone in his wake, ultimately winning the race and scoring his maiden victory in a touring car by over 18seconds.
It was a stunning performance from the young driver, which was acknowledged by the majority of his peers. The second race of the day was also held in wet conditions and Boniface again found himself in front. He was unable to repeat the dose however, as the track started to dry in the closing laps.
This allowed Graham Ball of Auckland to get ahead late in the piece, leaving Boniface to cross the line in second place.
Despite being pipped in the final race, it was a quality outing for Boniface and one he can look to build on heading into the next round of the series, held at Manfeild later this month.